What a treat today’s game is going to be. After an absolutely miserable season, we’ve managed to drag ourselves over the line to safety with a game to spare thanks to a remarkable and completely implausible turnaround due, mostly, to Neil Warnock’s excellent management. So instead of a nervy, do-or-die final day nail-biter, we can sit back and relax for today’s game and see it instead as a survival party where we can give Neil Warnock and Dean Hoyle a proper send off, say hello to our new owner and, hopefully, pick up a final win against Reading too.
The 90 minutes of football may not be the main focus of the events at the stadium this afternoon, with the prospect of so many goodbyes and a significant taking place, it’s likely that the game won’t produce the same drama as we’ll see after the final whistle but both teams will want to finish their seasons with a bit of pride after neither side have had much to be proud about this season.
Here’s my preview of the game…
Predicted Huddersfield Town XI to take on Reading
I’ve noticed when Neil Warnock is asked about specific players in interviews, he often pivots away from the player he’s asked about and turns the conversation round to the various players that are due to be out of contract this summer. So I feel certain that Ward, Ruffels and Koroma will all start this game, as they are all due to be looking to find new clubs in the summer. Maybe Vaclik too. Then they’ll get one more game to impress potential new clubs.
While it’s possible that Town may be offering these four new deals, comments from Warnock in the press have suggested they’ll need to find new clubs, so it may be that this will be the last time we’ll get to see them in Town shirts.
Other than that, Warnock has said he won’t be making wholesale changes or throwing in loads of kids, as he wants to finish on a high and get to 53 points if he can. He did, however, joke he’d be breathalyzing the players this morning; so anyone that overcelebrated clinching survival against Sheffield United on Thursday night may get bombed out of the team.
My guess is that we’ll see the same core group of players but some slight rotation to freshen things up and make us more aggressive against an opponent that hasn’t won a game since February. So I think we’ll see Nicholls, Edmonds-Green and Headley drop to the bench with Vaclik, Diarra and Ruffels coming in to replace them.
If my prediction is right, I think Town will play with four at the back, with Pearson shifted back over to right back, Hogg and Kasumu in midfield, with Diarra playing out wide on the opposite flank to Koroma with Rudoni tucking in behind Danny Ward.
Predicted Huddersfield Town lineup:
GK: Vaclik
Defence: Pearson, Lees, Helik, Ruffels
Midfield: Hogg, Rudoni, Kasumu,
Attackers: Diarra, Ward, Koroma
Reading: can they shake their relegation hangover?
This a cruel fixture for Reading’s fans and players to have to play. Prior to Thursday’s game against Sheffield United, they will have hoped this game was going to be a winner-takes-all, relegation decider, but now it’s a meaningless game where they’ll be forced to watch jubilant Town staff and fans celebrate their survival while they contemplate life in League One next season.
It’ll be a tough afternoon for Reading’s fans in particular as many of them bought tickets before last Thursday and were not expecting the game to be a dead rubber. I remember how decent their fans were after the playoff final in 2017, so it seems a bit cruel that they’re going to have to watch us celebrate while cursing their bad luck once again.
As for the players, they’ll have pride to play for but many will know that relegation will spell the end of their time at Reading or at least the triggering of a relegation wage reduction clause in their contract. Some might be thinking about impressing potential new clubs and bolstering their highlight reel but more likely they’ll be feeling fed up and it’ll be tough for them to lift themselves for another game when they know their season will end in relegation regardless of the outcome of this game.
Reading player to watch: Lucas Joao
There are actually quite a few decent players in Reading’s squad (and Naby Sarr!) so it’s a surprise that they’ve not done better. They actually started the season like a house on fire and were at the top end of the table in the early stages – the reverse fixture was Mark Fotheringham’s first game in charge and they were third in the table at the time. But Paul Ince’s management stumbled and the EFL’s looming points deduction that was threatened for a very long time but only applied a few weeks ago meant that their season fell to pieces after a promising start.
But in Lucas Joao they have a very good striker. He’s not been at his best this season but that might be related to the broader issues with Reading. I watched some bits of their game against Wigan last weekend and he still looks like a quality player.
He’s the type of striker that it would be great for Town to sign, proven Championship quality but also would most likely be out of our price range, even as a free agent, as he is probably earning so much that he’d break our wage structure. (He’s a high earner among Reading’s squad that has seen them get into trouble with the EFL for spending too much on player wages.) Unless our new owner really wants to splash the cash, I doubt we’ll be seeing this kind of player joining in the summer.
Goodbyes to expect this afternoon
This afternoon has been billed as a survival party but it’s also going to be a chance to say farewell as it’s the final game of our season. Obviously, Neil Warnock and Ronnie Jepson will be on their way. If they ever return to manage Huddersfield Town again it’s because something’s gone badly wrong and we’ve needed to bring them back as end-of-season firefighters. So in the best possible way, I really hope we don’t see Warnock back in charge again, given he’s clear that he only wants to work from February to May.
There are other farewells to bid too in this game, the biggest one will be Dean Hoyle. If all goes to plan, this will be the last game he attends as owner. Again, something has gone wrong if he takes charge again in the future, so hopefully this really is the end of his ownership and he can step back to being just a passionate fan. While I know he’s been divisive at times, I’m personally a big fan of Dean Hoyle’s stewardship of Town. He’s not got every decision right but I believe he’s been a force for good at the club and if the rumours are to be believed, the huge debt write-off means he’s leaving the club in excellent financial shape at great personal cost. So I hope he gets a good send off from the fans today, I think he deserves it.
Then there’s a handful of players we might be seeing the last of too, who I mentioned above. There’ll be Danny Ward, Josh Rufells and Josh Koroma, who all have expiring contracts and may not be offered new ones. While they may get new deals, I’ve a feeling they’ll be on their way. It’s also possible Jordan Rhodes may join that group, as he’s a fairly big earner in the context of our squad and has found his playing time limited under all three of our head coaches this season, so he may want to find a new club where he can get more minutes.
And a big hello to Kevin M. Nagle
Alongside the farewells, I have a feeling we’ll get the opportunity to say hello to our likely new owner, Kevin M. Nagle at half time. Neil Warnock has said he expects him to be at the game in interviews and the man himself has put out a request on Twitter of recommendations for decent chippies in the area – all but confirming he’s going to be in Town.
It would be ideal if the paperwork was all complete on the takeover and this moment could be used to officially confirm the takeover and Kevin could take the reins for real just as we’ve secured our status in the Championship. Things don’t always line up that nicely but I believe the Fit and Proper process should be close to completion around now, based on how long previous takeovers have taken to go through this procedure.
While it’s unlikely a pitch-side interview is going to yield any great detail about Nagle’s intentions or financial clout, it’ll be nice to see our new owner and hear him speak about his commitment to Town. I’ve really enjoyed reading his Tweets so far. Unlike previous owners, Nagle seems to have the knack for communicating with fans on social media and his pre and post-game tweets tend to strike the right tone. Unlike Phil Hodgkinson, who took to Twitter late at night and would squabble with fans in a “tired and emotional” state of mind.
Match prediction: Huddersfield Town 3-0 Reading
I feel quite positive about this game. With the pressure off and Reading’s morale likely to be at a low, I think Town will most likely register a straightforward win. Neil Warnock won’t allow the players to let their standards drop because he’s not that kind of manager, even for a game that has little riding on it, he’ll want to go out on a high and will insist on the usual levels.
This could be Warnock’s last game in football management and he won’t want to spoil the party atmosphere with a bad result. Not to mention the fact we’ve actually been in good form lately. Against good teams we’ve been able to make ourselves hard to beat and hit them on the break but against weaker opponents we’ve been able to play some decent football and show what we can do. I expect we’ll be on the front foot more against Reading and look to get in their faces.
Three nil may be optimistic but it wouldn’t surprise me to see Town get an early goal and then keep pushing to score more. It’s not been a good season by any measure for Huddersfield Town but at least we’re ending things on a high and I think this game will hopefully be a chance for us to say farewell to an iconic manager with three points, another win and we can all end the season with a smile on our faces.
Thank you Terrier Spirit for all your posts throughout the season. I have been an avid reader of them and found them interesting. I agreed with most of them. We seem to be on the same wave length.
Thanks Terry, that’s very kind of you to say.
Amidst my brief reflection, I forgot to add my thanks to you, TS, as Terry has done. I don’t know how many Town fans read your blog but many more ought to read your measured and thoughtful insights. Sometimes it’s true I’ve felt like shaking you and shouting “aren’t you feeling as angry as me?” but you always show restraint and are particularly generous to the youngsters. (My thoughts on that, if you’ve been given the nod and given the honour of wearing the shirt, then whatever your age, you have to step up.) I do hope you’ll write a further reflection on the season before we completely forget it and put it down as a bad dream. That apart, I hope to be reading you again pre-season. Thank you for the pleasure you bring.
Thanks Simon, I have a feeling that your comments are a big part of why a lot of people read this blog. Time permitting, I’ll keep blogging over the post-season. I have a feeling there will be quite a lot going on at the club to talk about.
On a celebratory day like today, it’s hard to remember the complete misery that prevailed in February. The squad of players, even after recalling all those players from loan in January, looked a jumble of has-beens and inexperience, led by an arrogant man who had very little to be arrogant about.
Somebody, maybe it will be you, TS, needs to write something about everything that went wrong between the moment Carlos resigned through to the appointment of Neil Warnock with Ronnie Jepson. Mind you, it could be as long as ‘War & Peace’! It was absolutely diabolical. It was a horror movie. And given it’s more or less the same squad of players that ends the season that started it, the woefully underperforming players must shoulder some of the blame.
But that’s for another day. Neil & Ronnie have saved us from the brink. Make no mistake, one relegation can quickly lead to another and to have bounced back would have been very difficult. It’s taken Wrexham 15yrs to finally climb back out of the National League when many thought they were too good for it.
Our new owner (hopefully) has been given an unexpected springboard to take Town onwards & upwards; let’s hope the whole club takes it. We can’t endure another season like this one.
We did look truly dead and buried at the end of winter. Not just the league position, but the body language of the players suggested they had been found out. It’s a stunning turnaround, and I still don’t really believe we did it.
You’re right that there could be a very interesting book written about this season but I don’t have the behind-the-scenes insight to write it. I’d love to know what Carlos asked for before he walked, what really went on between Dean, Phil and the administrators with the takeover, all the rumoured bust ups at the training ground that Fotheringham had (including Hoggy having him up against the wall by his neck according to one rumour I heard), Leigh Bromby seemingly being sidelined, the administration that never happened. That’s before you get into the disastrous results and horrendous signings. The there’s the horrific injury record, which might have been bad luck but a couple at least may have been bad management (I can think of one at least).
Today’s not the day for it, but an inquest into what went wrong this season would probably be fun to write. The difficulty will be knowing where to stop.
It is difficult to get away from the mindset of the last 9 months where we’ve been in the bottom 3 for almost all of that time. Every match up to (and including a couple of 0-4 results!) the Warnock era seemed to have be like sinking or treading water. Only the last few matches have given hope and even more recently, expecting to win whoever the opposition was. So the war is at an end but the peace will need a lot of work. Change will take place from the top management to the current playing staff. As TS has stated, many players are at the end of their contracts and the backbone of the team, the experienced players are all going to be a year older. Nobody knows what Ken Nagle intends, his finances or his involvement so most of the summer break will be speculation. There is only one thing that is certain, the support will remain the same and we will still have a club to be proud of, whoever wears the badge.
I like your continued reference to ‘war & peace’ albeit from a different standpoint.
The war is indeed over and it was a triumph like no other against all the odds. It wasn’t just looking at the league table in February but also looking at the fixture list ahead of us. It did look completely hopeless and even Warnock was ‘managing expectations’. Every match in the last few months has been a battle within the war and Town has not been found wanting.
Just as Churchill was the right man for the job during the Second World War, he was discarded for ‘the peace’ in 1945 in favour of Clement Attlee who proved to be an excellent selection. Let’s hope the Town board get it right too.
I live in jersey now but born in Huddersfield i have been a Town supporter since 1950 it was very clear even looking from afar that there were crazy decisions made on loaning out players and recruiting players especially even Neil warnock made references to that . I would like to see Jose karoma given a contract his coming to form is one of main reason Town have escaped relegation
I’m a youngster compared to you (63/64 was my first season of support) but like you I’m an exile (now in Suffolk but been ‘down south’ since 1975). You and I watch from afar and doubtless shake our heads at times. But on days like today, I wish I was at the John Smiths Stadium for the celebration.
Josh Koroma is an interesting one. I was one of his harshest critics before he went out on loan. Playing as an inverted winger with only one good foot, you need to be special on that good foot like a Mahrez, and for me Koroma didn’t have it. But like you, I’m a convert. There’s a lot that could still be done with him, like lifting up his head, awareness of what’s around him and playing that final ball, but with that strength and pace plus not being afraid to shoot, well I’d be offering him a contract too. He deserves it.
It’s always good to read your comments. I never expected us to be any better than mid table this season, as Coberan got good results out of an average team. But two poor managers out of their depth almost spelled disaster. I hope we get someone with as much nouse (difficult) as Warnock. We perhaps need a bit more speed in defense, a composed midfielder and a good finisher, if we get these and we do well, we need to keep them to build a good team. I hope Nagle can bring stability. Personally I think Hoyle has been a force for good at the club, but at times badly advised. We should give him a good sendoff.
Thanks for being the voice of reason in a very tough season.
I’m a big fan of DH too. No owner is ever perfect, but he’s the best imperfect owner we could have had and he made the impossible happen.
Not directly connected to your post this week, I just wondered whether I was the only person who felt that Jordan Rhodes had a decent match and contributed much more than Wardy (apart from his wonder goal against Sheff Utd). Rhodes won a few aerial battles (Ward never does); his control and lay-offs was generally good; he almost sneaked a goal after the Sarr nightmare backpass; and he all but had an assist having chased down a ball down the right wing, got in a decent cross to Rudoni who hit it well and would have scored but for Sarr’s long legs. Judging by the on-line scores, fans clearly didn’t rate his performance very highly compared to the rest of the team; I beg to disagree.
That said, I’m afraid I wouldn’t be looking to retain him. He’s probably Town’t highest paid player and that doesn’t represent good value to use him as an occasional impact sub. He might be difficult to offload due to his favourable contract terms with Town. I think he’s got something to offer but most likely to be in Division One if he wants to be a regular starter.
It is very pleasing to read that Mr Hoyle, along with your good self, has supporters in your comments folk and quite rightly so. Therefore very sad indeed that our former Owner and Chairman, and man who gave us such success and excitement, felt unable to be afforded a Good Bye adoration. Neither in the Directors Box during the match or at the final whistle this best Chairman of my lifetime, and I go back to Mr Dick Parker who along with other past leaders worked hard for our beloved club but hadn’t the finances to make such a difference, quietly slipped away from the JS Stadium.
I look forward to the publication ‘My life as a Terrier’. The story of the boyhood fan who following business success became Chairman and Owner of his beloved football club. Just like your articles TS that would be a book worth reading.
All the best to you Sir and all your contributors we have the one vital thing in common our beloved Huddersfield Town.